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Stanford vs. Washington State

Stanford and Washington State have 73 meetings on file, the first in 1936; Stanford leads the series 41–⁠31–⁠1 in the games on file. Over the last 10 meetings it’s Washington State 6–⁠4.

Stanford wins
41
Washington State wins
31
Ties
1
Earliest on file
1936
Longest streak
8 Washington State
Current streak
1 Stanford
Last 10 meetings
Washington State 6–⁠4
Most recent
2023

The series at a glance

’0’1’2’3’4’5’6’7’8’9W–L
1930s2–⁠2
1940s2–⁠3
1950s5–⁠4
1960s2–⁠5–⁠1
1970s7–⁠2
1980s4–⁠3
1990s7–⁠1
2000s5–⁠5
2010s6–⁠4
2020s1–⁠2
Both ranked
6 meetings: Stanford 4, Washington State 2
Average margin
16 points; 29 decided by one score (8 or fewer)
At Stanford
21–⁠18–⁠1 Stanford’s record at home
At Washington State
13–⁠20 Washington State’s record at home
Shutouts
7

Every meeting on file, as played. Ranks are the AP poll’s going in.

Games that tell the story

  1. Stanford’s biggest win2008: Stanford 58, Washington State 0by 58 points
  2. Washington State’s biggest win2022: Washington State 52, Stanford 14by 38 points
  3. Upset1971: Washington State 24, Stanford 23Washington State had a 10% chance, by our ratings before kickoff
  4. Upset1941: Washington State 14, Stanford 13Washington State had a 24% chance, by our ratings before kickoff
  5. Upset2016: Washington State 42, Stanford 16Washington State had a 25% chance, by our ratings before kickoff
  6. Ranked showdown1951: Stanford 21, Washington State 13No. 16 Washington State at No. 11 Stanford
  7. Ranked showdown1952: Stanford 14, Washington State 13No. 13 Stanford at No. 15 Washington State
  8. Ranked showdown1940: Stanford 26, Washington State 14No. 10 Stanford at No. 19 Washington State

Coach against coach

YearsStanfordSeriesWashington State
1936–⁠1939Tiny Thornhill2–⁠2O.E. Hollingbery
1952–⁠1954Chuck Taylor2–⁠1Alton Kircher
1958–⁠1962Jack Curtice0–⁠5Jim Sutherland
1968–⁠1971John Ralston2–⁠1–⁠1Jim Sweeney
1972–⁠1975Jack Christiansen3–⁠1Jim Sweeney
1989–⁠1991Dennis Green2–⁠1Mike Price
1995–⁠2001Tyrone Willingham5–⁠2Mike Price
2008–⁠2010Jim Harbaugh3–⁠0Paul Wulff
2012–⁠2019David Shaw4–⁠4Mike Leach

Head-coach pairings with three or more meetings on file, the series read from Stanford’s side (Thornhill 2–⁠2 against Hollingbery). A season split between coaches goes to the one credited with the game.

Both programs through the years

End-of-season Elo ratings of Stanford and Washington State, 1936 on130015001700194019501960197019801990200020102020

Our Elo rating at the end of each season, a measure of how strong a team was, not a forecast; 1500 is an average FBS team.

Stars of the series

Biggest days

Anthony Gordon Washington State44 of 60, 520 yards, 5 TD, 1 INT2019 Passing
Davis Mills Stanford32 of 49, 494 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT2019 Passing
Jerome Harrison Washington State29 carries, 218 yards, 1 TD2005 Rushing

Biggest days: the week’s best individual games by our big-days rule, from box scores (2004 on).

From the newspapers

  • The Evening star's story of the 1936 game: COUGAR AIR PLAY HEADS STANFORD Passes in Third Quarter Give Washington State Edge in 14-13 Fray.

    1936 · Evening star, Oct 4, 1936

  • The The Daily Alaska empire's story of the 1937 game: Stanford Defeats Washington State Goes Into Second Place Golf Runs 60 Yards to Make Touchdown

    1937 · The Daily Alaska empire, Nov 15, 1937

  • The The Daily Alaska empire's story of the 1938 game: WASHINGTON STATE LOSES TO STANFORD

    1938 · The Daily Alaska empire, Alaska, Oct 10, 1938

  • The The Wilmington morning star's story of the 1940 game: NO GRID UPSETS DURING WEEK END Top-Heavy Scores Mark Vic tories OF Leaders In Every Section Of Country

    1940 · The Wilmington morning star, North Carolina, Oct 21, 1940

  • The Evening star's story of the 1946 game: Stonford's S Late Score Beats Cougars, 27-26

    1946 · Evening star, Nov 17, 1946

Public-domain newspapers from the Library of Congress’s Chronicling America, found through the American Stories dataset (Dell and Harvard, CC BY 4.0). The earliest meetings with a story on file; each game’s page has the full text.

Photos

From the rivalry’s and its games’ categories on Wikimedia Commons (free licenses only, each credited).

Every game

Nov 4, 2023Stanford 10, Washington State 7at Washington State
Nov 5, 2022Washington State 52, Stanford 14at Stanford
Oct 16, 2021Washington State 34, Stanford 31at Washington State
Nov 16, 2019Washington State 49, Stanford 22at Washington State
Oct 27, 201814Washington State 41, 24Stanford 38at Stanford
Nov 4, 201725Washington State 24, 18Stanford 21at Washington State
Oct 8, 2016Washington State 42, 15Stanford 16at Stanford
Oct 31, 20158Stanford 30, Washington State 28at Washington State
Oct 10, 201425Stanford 34, Washington State 17at Stanford
Sep 28, 20135Stanford 55, Washington State 17at Washington State
Oct 27, 201219Stanford 24, Washington State 17at Stanford
Oct 15, 20117Stanford 44, Washington State 14at Washington State
Oct 23, 201012Stanford 38, Washington State 28at Stanford
Sep 5, 2009Stanford 39, Washington State 13at Washington State
Nov 1, 2008Stanford 58, Washington State 0at Stanford
Nov 10, 2007Washington State 33, Stanford 17at Washington State
Sep 23, 2006Washington State 36, Stanford 10at Stanford
Oct 8, 2005Stanford 24, Washington State 21at Washington State
Oct 16, 2004Stanford 23, Washington State 17at Washington State
Oct 18, 20036Washington State 24, Stanford 14at Stanford
Oct 12, 200212Washington State 36, Stanford 11at Stanford
Oct 13, 2001Washington State 45, 23Stanford 39at Stanford
Sep 2, 2000Stanford 24, Washington State 10at Washington State
Sep 11, 1999Stanford 54, Washington State 17at Stanford
Nov 14, 1998Stanford 38, Washington State 28at Stanford
Nov 15, 199714Washington State 38, Stanford 28at Washington State
Nov 16, 1996Stanford 33, Washington State 17at Stanford
Nov 11, 1995Stanford 36, Washington State 24at Washington State
Nov 14, 199215Stanford 40, 21Washington State 3at Stanford
Nov 16, 199122Stanford 49, Washington State 14at Washington State
Nov 3, 1990Stanford 31, Washington State 13at Stanford
Oct 14, 198917Washington State 31, Stanford 13at Washington State
Nov 5, 1988Washington State 24, Stanford 21at Stanford
Oct 10, 1987Stanford 44, Washington State 7at Washington State
Nov 1, 1986Stanford 42, Washington State 12at Stanford
Oct 20, 1984Washington State 49, Stanford 42at Stanford
Oct 23, 1982Stanford 31, Washington State 26at Washington State
Oct 25, 1980Stanford 48, Washington State 34at Washington State
Oct 21, 1978Stanford 43, Washington State 27at Washington State
Oct 22, 1977Stanford 31, Washington State 29at Stanford
Oct 23, 1976Stanford 22, Washington State 16at Washington State
Oct 25, 1975Stanford 54, Washington State 14at Stanford
Oct 26, 1974Stanford 20, Washington State 18at Washington State
Oct 27, 1973Stanford 45, Washington State 14at Stanford
Nov 11, 1972Washington State 27, 20Stanford 13at Washington State
Oct 23, 1971Washington State 24, 10Stanford 23at Stanford
Oct 17, 19709Stanford 63, Washington State 16at Washington State
Oct 18, 196918Stanford 49, Washington State 0at Stanford
Oct 19, 196814Stanford 21, Washington State 21at Stanford
Oct 14, 1967Stanford 31, Washington State 10at Stanford
Sep 19, 1964Washington State 29, Stanford 23at Washington State
Nov 16, 1963Washington State 32, Stanford 15at Stanford
Oct 13, 1962Washington State 21, Stanford 6at Washington State
Nov 18, 1961Washington State 30, Stanford 0at Stanford
Sep 17, 1960Washington State 15, Stanford 14at Washington State
Oct 17, 1959Washington State 36, Stanford 19at Stanford
Sep 20, 1958Washington State 40, Stanford 6at Washington State
Oct 12, 1957Washington State 21, Stanford 18at Stanford
Sep 22, 195614Stanford 40, Washington State 26at Washington State
Oct 30, 1954Washington State 30, Stanford 26at Stanford
Oct 31, 195317Stanford 48, Washington State 19at Stanford
Sep 27, 195213Stanford 14, 15Washington State 13at Washington State
Nov 3, 195111Stanford 21, 16Washington State 13at Stanford
Nov 11, 1950Stanford 28, Washington State 18at Stanford
Oct 2, 1948Washington State 14, Stanford 7at Washington State
Nov 16, 1946Stanford 27, Washington State 26at Stanford
Sep 26, 1942Washington State 6, Stanford 0at Stanford
Nov 15, 1941Washington State 14, 6Stanford 13at Stanford
Oct 19, 194010Stanford 26, 19Washington State 14at Washington State
Nov 18, 1939Washington State 7, Stanford 0at Stanford
Oct 8, 1938Stanford 8, Washington State 0at Stanford
Nov 13, 1937Stanford 23, Washington State 0at Stanford
Oct 3, 1936Washington State 14, Stanford 13at Washington State

Every game is listed as played on the field.